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Secret sea cave

A new state park hides caverns, beaches and history

Surf rumbles through sea caves in the three monumental Sisters Rocks, the largest of a cluster of islands between two scenic, rarely visited beaches.

This new state park on the Southern Oregon coast between Port Orford and Gold Beach was funded by Oregon Lottery money.

Years ago, Oregon voters passed an initiative to dedicate a portion of lottery funds to salmon and parks. At first, legislators undercut that measure by reducing the state park budget to match the new lottery income. More recently, however, funds have been flowing for state parks after all.

If you drive Highway 101 past Sisters Rocks, you probably won’t notice this park. There is a small state park sign, but it doesn’t mention a name. The park itself is undeveloped.

Still, this part of the coast has a long history.

Sisters Rocks served as a natural breakwater for the city of Frankport, founded on the beach here in the 1850s, when gold miners from California discovered gold flakes in the black sands of Southern Oregon beaches.

Sailing ships anchored off the shore here to shuttle small boats through the surf to Frankport Beach. Miners built a small city here to service their gold mining operations.

Today, rusting metal at Frankport Beach is the only memory of the pioneer seaport.

To visit the new state park, drive Highway 101 south of Port Orford 13 miles or north of Gold Beach 14 miles.

Between mileposts 314 and 315 (and 1.3 miles south of Prehistoric Gardens’ roadside dinosaur statues), look for the nameless state park sign.

Turn west beside a bluff on a very rough, rocky side road, and immediately park your car. If you have a global positioning system device, the location here is N42º 35.73’ W124º 23.97’.

Walk down the ancient road past a locked metal gate. Views extend north to Humbug Mountain and south to Cape Sebastian along beaches that rarely see footprints.

After 0.3 miles a left fork of the road descends to Frankport Beach. The right fork ends at a gravel plain between two of the monumental Sisters Rocks.

When you reach the first of the Sisters’ semi-islands, scramble 100 feet up the slope straight ahead toward what looks like a crater. When you reach the crater’s rim, you’ll discover it is actually the mouth of a giant sea cave.

Two other entrances to this cave are around the left side of the rock. Explore the tide pool area here at your own risk. Beware of slippery rocks and unexpected large waves.

Your entire visit to this new state park is unlikely to require more than a mile of hiking or two hours of your time.

Sisters Rocks may not the biggest state park on the coast, but with its secret sea cave, it may be one of the most fun to discover.